Mourning
by Ivy Quinzel
Summary: Chapter three of a story for a winning prize. The scene is a basic mourning scene.


**Winner's Prize**

This reward goes to [Morning /p/9nyoob] for winning my prompt contest. 

**Stats**

Words: 712

Time spent: ~4 sporadic hours 

**Recap**

To understand what has happened so far in Morning's story please read these.

[Chapter /p/4t7z2o] [Chapter /p/roeqcq] 

**Chapter 3**

The dried blood that had stained the young cats dark fur and matted at her neck has been licked clean by the queens and medicine cats as they prepared her body for the vigil. The apprentices chilled body has been positioned to curl up on her side. Her tail wrapped around her small body and covering her nose; making her look as if she were only asleep and would wake from nothing more than a soft mew in her ear. 

Grief rakes Oceanpaws belly and tears into her heart. The she-cats pain bleeds through her body, numbing everything it touches until she feels nothing. Her body numb and her heart empty with grief, Oceanpaw lies beside Owlpaws cooling body.

Oceanpaw presses her muzzle into her sisters stiff body, hoping to breath in her sweet scent one last time; only to choke on the overwhelming scent of mint and raspberry leaves that Redpool coated the apprentice with to keep the scent of death at bay. The medicine cat now sat before Owlpaw, her head bowed in respect for the young molly's short life. 

Beside Oceanpaw, sat her parents; Fawnbirch to the apprentices right, closer to Owlpaw's head, alternating her focus between both of her daughters. Occasionally offering comforting licks behind the ears of the grieving sister, and departing ones to the sister that lay lifeless at the queens paws. Horntail sat to her left. The deputy's stare intent, as he examined the lifeless cats too still flank, searching for any sign of breath; to no avail. Both parents radiate sorrow through their blank stares, too grief stricken from the loss of their youngest daughter to show any other feelings they might have. 

Residing on the other side of the still life, lies Nettlepaw; the lithe she-cat who grew up a mere moon older than the sisters. Being an only kit after her brothers death, who died before being given the chance to live, Nettlepaw and the two sisters had considered themselves to be kin, until last moon when Nettlekit was made an appearance without her younger adopted sisters. The Apprentice's eyes were closed as she imitated Oceanpaw's position, her breathing ragged as sobs raked her body and her muzzle pressed against the lifeless pelt of her dead sister. 

Several other cats stood behind the grieving family, one at a time stepping forward to pay their respects and share tongues a final time to the young she-cat who's life had been taken far too soon, before retreating with a murmur of encouragement to the mourning kin. 

As the final cat shared tongues and sent their departing words, the sun fell below the trees. Oceanpaw sluggishly thought about the days events. The two apprentices had been so excited to start their first day out of the camp. Everything around Oceanpaw buzzed with excitement and was laced with a warm glow of simple happiness. How had their day changed so much from that warm glow to the current bone-numbing chill?

This question swam in Oceanpaw's mind as the moon rose and crested over the group of cats. A silvery-blue glow pooling over the clearing and washing the cats with the pale light, turning each individual a pale, silver. The cats lay as still as the lifeless body between them, each caught up in their own thoughts about Owlpaw and the life she brought. 

Oceanpaw realized she must have closed her eyes as she thought about Owlpaw, when a paw nudged her flank. The apprentice reopened her eyes to the soft grey hues of dawn and glanced up, her eyes locking with the sympatheticly mournful gaze of Russetstep, his eyes gentle as they looked down on her in understanding. The elders voice croaked with grief as he spoke "it's time."

looking around her, Oceanpaw realized the other cats had already moved. Disapproving eyes bore into her own but she was too tired and filled with grief to care that the others thought she had fallen asleep, Oceanpaw padded to them. She shared a sorrowful look with Nettlepaw before breaking their eye contact. A stone fell in the apprentices belly as she turned around and all that was left of her sister was a thin trail through the dirt as her limp tail disappeared through the tunnel.

 _El Fin_


End file.
